Digitally Downloaded – Your specialist source of news and reviews for games, anime, manga, film and literature

A screenshot from Mentari. In it, a girl with short blue hair and a cream-coloured gown questions, "In this island, dancers are... second-class citizen(s)? But how?"

Indie/News

10.10.2024

Heal the world with the power of dance in coming-of-age adventure game Mentari

Dance could be considered an underrated form of artistic expression, so it is great to see it featured in video games. Dance has the power to heal. Mentari was announced today; it is an action-adventure game with a dance-based combat system. In its world, dancers are seen as second-class citizens. It is a coming-of-age story about self-discovery, connection, and healing.…

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Heal the world with the power of dance in coming-of-age adventure game Mentari

October 10, 2024

Indie/News

Dance could be considered an underrated form of artistic expression, so it is great to see it featured in video games. Dance has the power to heal. Mentari was announced today; it is an action-adventure game with a dance-based combat system. In its world, dancers are seen as second-class citizens.…

A photograph of Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo on a wooden bedside table with a beige/white table lamp.

Begin your day with Mario, Link, and others using Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo

October 10, 2024

News/Nintendo

Some people wake up easily. I do not. No part of sleep is easy or fun for me: I struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up multiple times nightly. Waking up is made less acceptable when a bleeting phone alarm goes off two feet from your ears. But…

Review: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (Nintendo Switch)

October 9, 2024

Nintendo Switch/Reviews/Switch Review

Of all the games produced for the Simple 2000 series of budget Japanese PS2 titles, none has had quite the same resonance or longevity as D3’s Earth Defense Force series. I’m unashamedly a fan of most of the EDF games – as long as we can all agree that Insect…

A screenshot from Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos.

Motorcycle combat game Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos will launch in January 2025

October 9, 2024

Idea Factory International/News

Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is not your typical Neptunia game. Instead of being classified as an RPG, it falls more accurately into the action genre. The motorcycle combat game is set in a dimension very different from Gamindustri. Many distinct Dogoos are appearing, threatening to cover the land. A lone…

Review: Silent Hill 2 (Sony PlayStation 5)

October 8, 2024

Horror/Konami/Reviews/Sony PlayStation 5

Remaking Silent Hill 2 is not like remaking a Resident Evil game. Resident Evil titles are big, fun, stupid rollercoasters of jump scares, ugly monsters, and a delight in the B-grade joy of zombie films. Silent Hill 2 meanwhile is thoughtful, introspective, and downright literary. The game is famous for…

Review: Metaphor: ReFantazio (Sony PlayStation 5)

October 8, 2024

Atlus/JRPG/PlayStation 5/Reviews

Metaphor: ReFantazio might not take place in a school in modern Japan. You might not be playing as a group of school kids somehow saving the day while the adults seem oblivious to it all. It may technically be the first new game from a new studio. But, to be…

October 2024 Podcast: It’s Halloween, so we talk horror. Also, we chat about our own visual novel, The Last Waltz!

October 7, 2024

podcast/Podcasts/The games of October

It’s the spooky time of year again, and of course all the developers and publishers have been rushing out their horror games. There’s some good ones, too, and this month we chat a bit about what makes a good horror game in our view. We also talk about all the…

A newly-cropped version of Dee Dee in the DDNet news studio.

The catch-up coffee: October 7, 2024

October 7, 2024

catch-up coffee/News

Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly catch-up news feature, the catch-up coffee. I will bring you the best news you may have missed with each issue. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!…

Officially announcing The Last Waltz – coming in 2025! (Also, watch the Oceania Dancesport Championships today FOR FREE)

October 5, 2024

Uncategorized

Today is a very exciting day for me, personally! I am thrilled to formally announce The Last Waltz, with a 2025 release. Most of you that follow the site probably already know about the game as I’ve been talking about it pretty openly, but today is the formal, public announcement…

Gadget Review: PowerA OPS v3 Pro

October 4, 2024

Gadget/Gadget Review/Hardware/Hardware Review

The value of “pro” controllers is a little lost on me, as the only competitive game that I play is Magic the Gathering, which doesn’t need a controller at all, and most of the single player games I enjoy can be played with one or two buttons (and are often…

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Reviews

Review: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (Nintendo Switch)

October 9, 2024

Of all the games produced for the Simple 2000 series of budget Japanese PS2 titles, none has had quite the same resonance…

Review: Silent Hill 2 (Sony PlayStation 5)

October 8, 2024

Remaking Silent Hill 2 is not like remaking a Resident Evil game. Resident Evil titles are big, fun, stupid rollercoasters of jump…

Review: Metaphor: ReFantazio (Sony PlayStation 5)

October 8, 2024

Metaphor: ReFantazio might not take place in a school in modern Japan. You might not be playing as a group of school…

Review: Reynatis (Nintendo Switch)

October 1, 2024

Reynatis’ single biggest flaw is that it tries too many things, and while each of its themes would in itself be worth…

Videos

Podcast-in-Video: Getting nostalgic for Xenogears

December 6, 2023

Xenogears is an all-time classic, but the question is… could something like that even be made again today? That’s what we discuss…

Podcast-in-Video: The games we loved through 2023

December 5, 2023

As it is the last month of the year, it’s time to look back at all the games that were released this…

Interview with the producer and director of Dragon Quest Monsters Dark Prince by DigitallyDownloaded.net

Podcast-in-Video: The big game releases in December

December 5, 2023

Apologies that we’ve been absent from uploading these videos. Various technical issues prevented us from doing a video version of the podcast,…

Podcast-in-Video: The games we wouldn’t play on the train

September 7, 2023

Got a Nintendo Switch? At some stage you’ve probably taken it out in public. After all, gaming on the go is very…

Interviews

A 4X game about… a failing empire? An interview with JG Games

October 3, 2024

Most 4X and empire-building strategy games are focused on building an empire up. Starting from humble roots and then carefully managing the…

Bringing fine art to video games: An interview with Nomada Creative Director, Conrad Roset

September 24, 2024

So much of Neva, as well as its predecessor, Gris, comes down to Conrad Roset, the Creative Director of Nomada Studio, and…

Q & A: Could Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven be a new breakout hit for the series?

September 20, 2024

It’s clear from playing the demo that Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a significant effort by Square Enix. It’s…

Voyeurism, exploitation, and a dash of bubblegum: An interview with the developer of The Crush House

July 30, 2024

“It’s time to start taking reality TV more seriously,” a headline in Columbia University’s magazine proclaimed. It’s true, too. As the article…

Gadgets

by Matt

October 4, 2024

Gadget/Gadget Review/Hardware/Hardware Review

Gadget Review: PowerA OPS v3 Pro

The value of “pro” controllers is a little lost on me, as the only competitive game that I play is Magic the Gathering, which doesn’t need a controller at all, and most of the single player games I enjoy can be played with one or two buttons (and are often turn-based). With that being said, while features don’t bother me…

Gadget/Gadget Review/Hardware/Hardware Review

Gadget Review: CRKD NEO S

Manufacturing third-party controllers must be a tough gig. It’s one of those things that the major console manufacturers – Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo – are hyper-competitive about because controllers impact heavily on how enjoyable their consoles are to use. Consequently, all three make excellent controllers, put them at reasonable prices…